Australian execs rank second in the world for collaboration: study

But collaborative technology adoption still has some way to go

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Some 45 per cent of Australian executives spend up to and more than 40 hours per week collaborating, according to a global study commissioned by IT services firm, Avanade.

And, true to the spirit of the term, the study shows that Australian executives prefer to 'collaborate' as part of a team.

The study was commissioned by Avanade and conducted by Kelton Research, which interviewed more than 500 C-level executives, IT decision makers and business unit leaders from 17 countries during February, 2010.

More than 80 per cent of executives said they thought enterprise-wide collaboration is the key to success. Almost half of Australian executives spend a significant amount of time collaborating with colleagues and business partners in the workplace, the study found, but organisations still continue to use traditional methods of communication, such as telephone calls and e-mail.

Avanade Australia country manager Jeyan Jeevaratnam said technologies that facilitate better collaboration are changing business cultures.

“In an age of real-time information and instant expectations, meaningful collaboration that involves both people and technology can mean the difference between success and failure,” Jeevaratnam said.

The study also found:

42 per cent cent of Australian executives said collaboration delivers the greatest results.
Notwithstanding the stabilisation of the local economy, 78 per cent of Australian executives still feel the pressure to innovate and gain a competitive edge, which was in line with the global outlook (79 per cent).
Adoption of collaboration technologies by Australian companies is increasing (58 per cent) to address these concerns.
Across geographies and industries, respondents reported a gradual shift away from cost savings as a top priority, instead reporting a marked increase in pressure to innovate.
36 per cent of Australian companies feel current IT infrastructures do not allow employees to accessibly find the right information.

In spite of the findings, Jeevaratnam said Australian enterprises are still behind when it comes to the adoption of collaborative technologies.

“Although we have seen a resounding shift by everyday Australians to use social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, Australian enterprises are still overwhelmingly choosing more traditional forms of communication — e-mail and telephone — when they could be adopting newer and more collaborative forms of communication such as Microsoft Office Communication to connect with employees anywhere in real time, or using SharePoint to form ad-hoc global teams for collaboration activities,” he said.